Winter Olympics: Lizzy Yarnold defends skeleton gold as Laura Deas takes bronze (headline)
Lizzy Yarnold retained her skeleton title and Laura Deas claimed bronze in Pyeongchang on Great Britain’s most successful day at a Winter Olympics. (intro)
BBC Sport Online, February 17, 2018
To ‘defend’ a title is not the same as to ‘retain’ it, though the BBC seems to think the words are interchangeable.
‘Defending’ a title simply means that the last winner is in the competition this time. If she wins, she ‘retains’ the title or ‘successfully defends’ it. If she loses, she has ‘unsuccessfully defended’ or ‘lost’ it.